Absence of Attack on Metals

The last requisite of a war gas is comparatively important the absence of any attack on the material in which it is to be stored or used. Some war gases strongly attack the iron which commonly forms the storage containers and projectiles such are xylyl bromide, the incompletely chlorinated formates, bromobenzyl cyanide and a few others. 

This corrosive action necessitates the emplo5mient of special expedients, such as  

RELATION BETWEEN CHEMICAL STRUCTURE AND AGGRESSIVE ACTION 

The employment of toxic substances as a military arm has added interest to the study of the relation between physio-pathological action and chemical constitution, which started some years ago. 

This study, particularly important in the case of the war gases because of the guidance afforded in the discovery of new gases, has centred around the relation between their chemical structure and the type of action which they exert (lachrymatory, asphyxiant, sternutatory, etc.). 

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